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DHA rape case: Police deny rumours woman has disappeared

KARACHI: Little headway seems to have been made in the investigation into an alleged case of rape which was committed in DHA in December.
The police have denied rumours and news reports that the alleged victim, K, has ‘disappeared’ and say they are treating it like a high-profile case. Investigating Officer Ishaq Lashari told The Express Tribune that K is cooperating. “We have told her that she will need to work with us in the investigation. The police have to continue to do its work and build a case,” Clifton SP Tariq Dharejo said.

According to Dharejo, the next step is for K to identify the perpetrators from the suspects the police have identified, so statements can be recorded in front of a magistrate in accordance with section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The alleged crime was committed in the early hours of December 20, and the First Information Report (FIR) was registered under sections 365-A (kidnapping) and 375/34 (gang rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Darakshan police station. Lashari said the police are still treating it as a class-A FIR.

No suspects have been arrested so far but Lashari believes the culprits are in Karachi. A source said that the identification of the culprits is still blurred, but the investigation is heading ‘in the right direction’.
The case gained prominence because of the scare it created in the city. K and a friend exited a party in DHA in their car. Men in a car rammed into their vehicle, pushing it into a ditch. The women were then reportedly dragged from the car and K was taken somewhere and raped.